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Tom Burke to play Cormoran Strike in television adaptation of Robert Galbraith’s crime thrillers

Tom Burke is set to play Cormoran Strike in the BBC adaptation of The Cuckoo’s Calling, The Silkworm and Career of Evil, written by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym, Robert Galbraith.

THREE television dramas, based on J.K. Rowling’s crime novels – written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith – are heading for the small screen, courtesy of the BBC.

British actor, Tom Burke (The Musketeers, War and Peace) will play Cormoran Strike, a war veteran turned private detective, who operates out of a tiny office in London’s Denmark Street in the adaptations of The Cuckoo’s Calling, The Silkworm and Career of Evil.

Although he’s wounded both physically and psychologically, Strike’s unique insight and his background as an SIB Investigator prove crucial in solving three complex cases which have eluded the police.

“I’m overjoyed to be immersing myself in the role of Cormoran Strike, who is as complex as he is larger than life,” says Burke. “I know I’m joining an extraordinary team of people on a series that for me is peppered with moments of real emotional depth and meticulously grounded in the page-turning momentum of these novels. Cormoran’s world is rich and raw.”

Rowling said she was ‘thrilled’ about the casting of Burke, adding that he was ‘a massively talented actor’ who would be able to bring her character to perfect life.

“Cormoran Strike is pure joy to write and I can’t wait to see Tom play him,” the author said.

Rowling – who is world famous for her Harry Potter novels – will be an executive producer on the show alongside Neil Blair (Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them, The Casual Vacancy), Ruth Kenley-Letts (The Casual Vacancy, The Hour) and Elizabeth Kilgarriff (for the BBC).

The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm will be adapted for television by Ben Richards (The Tunnel, Sabotage, Spooks) while Tom Edge (The Last Dragon Slayer, Lovesick) will adapt Career of Evil.

“Tom Burke has all the talent, depth and versatility needed to take on the mantle of Cormoran Strike,” says Kenley-Letts. “He’ll bring his own particular wisdom, charisma and emotional complexity to the part. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with him.”

The BBC has previously adapted JK Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy for the small screen.

The Cuckoo’s Calling was published to critical acclaim in 2013 and went on to be a global bestseller. It was followed in 2014 by The Silkworm and Career of Evil in 2015.

All three books were number one Sunday Times bestsellers in both hardback and paperback and publisher, Little, Brown, has sold in total over four million copies worldwide across all editions.

Robert Galbraith was shortlisted for the prestigious CWA Gold Dagger in 2015 and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2016.